This invention relates to a method and apparatus for permitting mechanical and electrical connections to be made between the interior and exterior of a boat without breaching the hull.
It is frequently necessary to couple sensors positioned on a boat""s exterior to instruments or mechanisms located on the boat""s control panel, within the boat""s cockpit or elsewhere within the boat""s interior. Such sensors include, but are not limited to, sonar, speed and temperature sensors, and are typically mounted on the exterior of the hull. The connection of the sensors to the instrumentation has conventionally required holes to be created in the hull, through which electrical wire or cables can be passed to the boat""s interior. Each hole formed in the hull, however, creates a potential leakage path. This is particularly true where the hole is not made as part of the manufacturing process, wherein special tools and skills are employed. In particular, holes made by boat owners in the course of adding equipment to their boats are particularly prone to leakage, and other complications can arise as well where the boat has a double-walled hull in the area where the hole is to be made.
The invention herein is directed to a method and apparatus for permitting the passage of conduits through the hull of a boat without the creation of additional holes. The term xe2x80x9cconduitsxe2x80x9d will be understood to include, but not be limited to, pneumatic, hydraulic, electrical and mechanical links. Briefly, use is made of the boat""s scupper. The invention herein provides a method and means providing a conduit-accommodating passageway without breaching the hull by providing a passageway through the scupper which bypasses the check valve. A preferred embodiment of the invention is described in the following Description of the Preferred Embodiment, of which the drawing forms a part.